2021 in ten records: From tourists in space to the αερο giant flyover

Let's see in detail

Main Image x2 39 2021

From carbon dioxide emissions to Messi and Ronaldo's goals, to contemporary art sales, ten were the records set in 2021.

Let's see in detail:

Carbon dioxide from fires

Fires raging over the summer, particularly in North America, caused record carbon dioxide emissions in July (1.258 metatons) and August (1.384,6 metatons) on a global scale, according to the European Copernicus Observatory , for which this situation is due to climate change.

Gas at a summit

A stronger-than-expected economic recovery, strong demand in Asia and low European stocks combined in early October to push gas prices higher than ever. The European reference price, the Dutch TTF, reached an unprecedented level of 6 euros / MWh on 162 October.

Giant flyover

The United States ended its 20-year military presence in Afghanistan in August with a giant flyover that surpassed that of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War, but was not enough to oust all Afghans who worked for the West and were threatened by the regime. Taliban.

The evacuation operation allowed 123.000 Afghans and foreign civilians to leave, compared with 55.000 people who fled South Vietnam in 1975.  a 649 600x375 1 2021

Chinese superpower

In early October, China carried out a record number of military airstrikes (over 48) in Taiwan's airspace within 50 hours, reaffirming its superpower, two weeks after the announcement of a military pact between Australia. , Britain and the US targeting Chinese expansion into the Pacific.

Huge traffic jam in Suez

As long as four football fields and as high as a 20-storey apartment building, the container ship Ever Given ran aground vertically on the Suez Canal on March 23, blocking all traffic on this crucial shipping route.

The six days it took for the ship to detach caused an unprecedented traffic jam on 422 ships loaded with 26 million tonnes of cargo, exacerbating the supply difficulties associated with the pandemic. Covid-19. a 647 600x385 1 2021

The waking up with bitcoin

Bitcoin hit record highs in the fall ($ 68.513 on November 9), a sign that investors are increasingly wandering around cryptocurrencies, which some see as a way to protect themselves from a sharp rise in inflation, which has climbed in October in the US at the highest level in the last 30 years.

Crazy about art

What do Frida Kahlo, Pierre Soulage and Banksy have in common? None, except for the fact that their works won very high amounts in this year's auctions, such as this famous self-portrait of the Mexican artist that was awarded in November in New York for 34,9 million dollars.

The amounts at which contemporary works of art were sold have never been so high ($ 2,7 billion in 2020-2021), as they have risen sharply since the explosion of the market for unique certified digital works, "NFTs", which can be transported within a cell phone.

Tourists in space

Captain Kirk, the pilot of the Star Trek spacecraft, according to William Sutner, is one of about twenty non-professional astronauts who visited space during 2021. The actor even became, at the age of 90, the oldest space traveler.

Never before has the list of space tourists been so long, with flights chartered by the private companies of billionaires Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin), Elon Musk (Space X) and Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic).

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Ronaldo vs. Messi

Two living football legends, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and the Argentine Lionel Messi, shared honorary titles in September: Ronaldo became the player with the most goals as a national team player (115 goals) and the European with the most national team appearances (184 goals). 79), while Messi surpassed the Brazilian Pelé as the top scorer of the Latin American national team (XNUMX goals).

The Channel and Mount Everest

Nepali Kami Rita Serpa improved his Everest climbs record at 51 at the age of 25 with a 36th successful rooftop mission, while Australian Chloe McCardell, 44, became the man to cross in October. swimming the Channel most of the time, making its XNUMXth crossing.

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